Inside The Perimeter

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Saturday, December 31, 2005

Look Who's Blogging

Just Another DayWanting to do something, but having nothing to do tonight I keep repeating to myself that this is "just another day", "just another day". I've managed to keep myself occupied by watching football and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

This is the first year in some time that I have spent New Year's Eve alone. In recent years I was in Boston for a wedding, or hung out at Brewhouse/Gravity/Crazy Horse/private parties with friends. I suppose that I could have meandored up to The Earl or Gravity tonight, but the thought of being out alone amongst people who are having a better time than me was unbearable.

Thankfully I have a full schedule tomorrow, to help me forget my woes.

Everyday Is Like Spring Break In Downtown AtlantaThrow a couple of college bowl games in the Dome and a parade in one weekend and the atmosphere downtown changes dramatically.

In part because I had the day off from work and the weather was fantastic, and in part because I needed to buy a Marta card for January, my camera and I took the train to Five Points.

Lunch was at the Landmark Diner. Why? Because in one of those rare instances I knew exactly what I wanted to eat as soon as I saw the restaurant. Say it with me... Country. Fried. Steak. Remember, the diet starts Monday.

As I strolled along the streets (admittedly looking for a building I remember seeing a few years ago, but could not manage to find yesterday) I snapped the following photos. If you are interested in reading the stories behind the photos, swing over to my Flickr page

It's now 10:57pm EST. I think it's time to hit the alcohol so that I can go to sleep soon.

Friday, December 30, 2005

2005: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Sorry about today's delay. I had intended to blog from Joe's Coffee Shop, but today there was no Wi-Fi.

Howdy folks! As I complete my first full calendar year of blogging I want to thank you for taking time out to read. While you know that I am far from happy at all times, I have been as honest as I can be (with the exception of my April Fool's entry, and the omission of any incriminating business talk).

btw- I'd sure appreciate some comments on things you liked and those you don't.

Here is how I perceived my 2005...

The GoodLive Music2005 marked my return to seeing live music. I'm not sure why I hadn't done this sooner since with the exception of about eighteen months I have made my own schedule. I love live music, especially in small clubs.

100% Less CarjackingThe 2004 event that re-shaped my life forever was my carjacking (see here for more). Thankfully, 2005 saw no violent crime in my life.

[UPDATE @4:28p, link about fixed. Thanks to the person who alerted me to the error]

Walking Off The Pounds, Well At Least I Am WalkingWhile a relatively new routine, I am really enjoying my walks back to my car. Eventhough I am walking through parts of town that I have driven and run through for the past eleven years, I am seeing Atlanta in new way.

New York! New York!If you remember my August posts you'll also remember the fun I had in New York. I have a feeling that there might be a return visit soon. Can you say "shoilet"? I knew you could.

I Made An Ass Of Myself Fewer TimesNo red dress this year.No Christmas carolling this year.Fewer drunken nights (at least in public).

I Met (Sometimes Virtually) A Lot Of Interesting PeopleAfter a stutter-start, I managed to hook up with the Atlanta Blogging Drunks. By in large they are a really good bunch of people. I look forward to this continuing. I would love to branch out this venture.

The Bad20 By 40Whew, did I fuck this one up! My one goal was to drop twenty pounds by my fortieth birthday. As of today I have added a handful of pounds.

As of today I am blaming my weight gain on all of my friends who became pregnant this year; you know who you are!

Let's Just Say That I Wasn't Much Of A Chick MagnetThis was an exceptionally "dry" year in the dating category (not that you would read about this subject in this space often anyway).

If I Only Knew Then What I Know NowOn my first night in New York I had the opportunity to see Clap Your Hands Say Yeah play, for free no less, and I passed! D'Oh, Fucking d'oh!

No Century RiddenI had intended to ride a one-hundred mile bike ride in 2005. Good intention, bad execution. In fact, my tires didn't receive much wear-and-tear this year.

I Still Don't Speak Any New LanguagesComputer languages that is...

I've Not Volunteered Nearly EnoughI used to be a dedicated volunteer, mostly for Trees Atlanta. I have no excuses, I've been lazy.

The UglyMy AppearanceSuffice to say I am not pleased with the current state of my life. I figure that this is my life's half-time. Hopefully, much like Meet The Hashers, I am a second-half team.

This Site's AppearanceITP is old and sluggish. I intend a rework nest year (yeah, I know you've heard that before).

Top Live Concerts From 2005Unfortunately, I only started keeping my concert-viewing history in April so I don't have an accurate account of all the shows I saw. From April to today I attended twenty-five concerts. Here is a list of my favorite shows

#6 - The New Pornographers (Variety Playhouse): Being a relative n00b to the New Pornographers I didn't know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised.

#5 - A Fir-Ju Well (The Earl): I am speaking of the first time I saw them this year. This sparked an amazing interest in this band for me. If I manage to see them at The Earl tomorrow night I will have seen them four times in 2005.

#4 - Weezer (Tabernacle): I struggled on whether to pick this show over the one I saw with the Foo Fighters in Gwinnett (I know, location, location, location). Honestly, the crowd at the Tabernacle was there to see Weezer, and their energy drove that show to its success.

#3 - The Faint / Bright Eyes (Earthlink Live): And I never left the seat I was in! Old Man Paulie was sat with the parents that night. Had I seen the first show the night before, I would have been dancing throughout the The Faint's set on the second night. [note to self, stop giving a fuck about what other people think of you.]

#2 - Bob Mould (Variety Playhouse): Mr. Mould and I have a twenty-plus year musical history. When he and the band launched into Husker Du songs it was like I was eighteen again. There are few people who can replenish my youth; Bob Mould is one.

#1 - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (The EARL): I felt like a fucking genius buying my ticket to a sold-out show months in advance. With only one CD to their name, CYHSH brough the house down.

Top CD Picks From 2005Thanks to the wonders of Atlanta's used CD stores and the purchase of my iPod, I've once again started buying music (although I still want to send out a big Fuck You to the RIAA). Here is a list of my favorite CDs, and I've spared you the loading time needed for cover art.

#10- Grandaddy "Excerpts From The Diary Of Todd Zilla": I've finally jumped on the Grandaddy bandwagon, and probably as they release their final CD.

#9 - The White Stripes "Get Behind Me Satan": Raw Rock n Roll. I still contend that Meg is a lousy drummer, but their music is uniquely theirs

#8 - Bright Eyes "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning": Love of hate Conor Oberst, but you should admit that the boy has talent.

#7 - Dressy Bessy "Electrified": Dressy Bessy has a stripped down style. I still curse myself for not making it to their first show at The EARL, and I curse them for cancelling the second.

#6 - The New Pornographers "Twin Cinema": I don't have much to say, this was (and is) a fun album to hear.

#5 - Bloc Party "Silent Alarm": Bloc Party hit our shores with a bang. I thought that would make me hate their CD, but alas I thought it was a really good product.

#4 - ...And You'll Know Us By Our Trail Of Dead "Worlds Apart": This one should have made my "You Should Have Bought This CD" list. These guys are strange. I still regret not being able to see them live earlier this year (I had a long bike ride the next day).

#3 - Sufjan Stevens "Illinois": Not #1 on my list? What, am I fucking stupid? No! There is a lot I love about this CD, and some that I could easily skip. I still don't think he will make a release for all fifty states.

#2 - Stephen Malkmus "Face the Truth": Well now, didn't expect to see this here, did you? Let me state this for the record, Stephen Malkmus is a fucking musical genius! Yes, I did say that!

#1 - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah": Surprise! Okay, if you have been reading this space over the last six months, it's no surprise. There is only one CD that I could listen to every day, and that is this one. CYHSY had a lot of hype, and people hated them for that. Not everybody liked CYHSY's musical style, as for me I cannot wait to hear their next release.

note 1: Some Critics' Choices CDs (for example Kanye West's, The Decemberists, etc) didn't make my list because I never got around to buying it (because I never found it used) or got to hear the entire CD.

note 2: 2004 releases (which is why they are not on the list): A Fir-Ju Well -- "Absolutely", Rilo Kiley -- "More Adventurous", The Faint -- "Wet From Birth", Modest Mouse -- "Good News For People Who Like Bad News"

Please be safe tomorrow night. I hope to see you all on the other side of New Year's Eve.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - reflectiveCurrent Music - none, I am listening to the Geek News Central podcastWebsite Of The Day - none, I am being lazy today.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Thursday, December 29, 2005

My Last Work Day Of The Year!

I drove in to work again today. Eventhough I saw that Joe's was open and that Ellen was working, I chose not to stop today so that I could have an uninterrupted drive to the office.

Happiness Always Accompanies With YouHuh? That was my fortune from my Chinese Buffet lunch yesterday (the diet starts Monday). This buffet was actually pretty decent, and they even had corn nuggets reminiscent of the old Grand Buffet in Jonesboro.

The Freshest Trivia In TownAs I mentioned yesterday, I went to play trivia at the Dark Horse Tavern with the Chattooga All-Stars. Ironically, of the three people who played only one was an original Chattooga All-Star.

Unfortunately, all questions asked (by my friend Glenn who hosted) were about things which occurred in 2005. You would think that this would help us, but we could only manage to finish in third place.

I'll Have A Green's New Year's Without YouGuess where I went last night?

That's right last night I loaded up on beers that I have never before drank. With my $50 certificate I managed to get $49.77 (with tax) worth of beer. Damn, I'm good!

Look for beer reviews in the upcoming weeks. I'll also be simulblogging these reviews over at Bloggers And Beer.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - blehCurrent Music - none, listening to the "KFI the Tech Guy" podcast.Website Of The Day - Everybody has a hobby. It seems that this guy Steven Hill's hobby is taking screen captures of movie title screens and posting them on his website.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

I'm An Excellent Driver, Excellent Driver

At this point I should thank Marta for reducing the stress in my daily commute. Today I drove into work. While it did afford me the opportunity to stop at Joe's Coffee Shop buy a coffee to-go and say hello to my favorite barrista, Ellen, I was ready to kill all of those around me on my way up the Connector and 400.

These Are Trying TimesI am a gadget nut. Fortunately I limit myself to buying only those things that fall within my budget and have at least some appearance of fun or productivity as relates to my life. Normally the days after Christmas should be a great time to go out and get those few gadgets remaining relatively cheap. However, given that the Consumer Electronics Show and MacWorld both occur in the next few weeks I need to wait until I hear what toys are to be released in the near future.

Oh the pain of waiting...

Call Me 'Tenderfoot'I knew that I was in for a long walk last night. What I didn't realize was how painful it was going to be in the sneakers I chose to wear yesterday. Hrmph! This will be one instance where the phrase "no pain, no gain" is definitely inappropriate.

What A Difference A Week MakesFrom my walk I could obviously tell that fewer people are at work this week. Yesterday I saw crowds at the museum, in Piedmont Park and many people out running last night. It probably also helped that the temperature hovered around sixty degrees as well.

Rain + NoDesireToRun = TeamTriviaTonight I am going to join the Chattooga County All-Stars tonight for a TeamTrivia Smack Down, at the Dark Horse Tavern. While it's true that I should be running -- as many of you will be glad to remind me :) -- I'd rather be sitting around exercising my brain tonight.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - wantingCurrent Music - none, listening to the Inside The Net podcast.Website Of The Day - In the past I mentioned a product called "Basecamp" (at least I think I did). This app and a few other excellent apps are available from the company 37signals.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

A Braindead Tuesday

It's Not Easy being GreenI am a NY Jets fan, which at this point should come as no surprise to anyone. It's been a tough season to be a Jets fan, seeing them lose in person to the Falcons and then to the New England on Monday nights.

To make matters worse, there are two commercials being shown on TV in which a team scores a touchdown against the NY Jets, one of them is the Diet Pepsi machine commercial, and the other is a camera commercial. Come on, give us Jets fans a fucking break already.

Look Who Went To A Movie!Last night I went to Atlantic Station to see Walk The Line with my friends Stacey and Andy. This was one of the many movies I wanted to see, but was a bit concerned when the only seats we could find were in the second row. Want to know how this was like? Pick up a 8.5" x 11" photo and pull it all the way into the tip of your nose. That's what it was like.

Overall I thought the movie was well-made. However, for a while I thought I was re-watching "Forrest Gump" because Johnny Cash's life crossed the path of so many music legends. Both Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon did ample jobs pulling off their characters (always difficult when the portrayed have lived recently).

This was my first trip into Atlantic Station. What a cluster fuck. I really don't see myself returning that often, especially during heavy traffic times. (An Atlantic Station Marta station would have been nice. I'm just saying...)

(Overlooked) CD Pick Of The WeekOkay, you know the routine... There is nothing dropping today that interests me, so I'll suggest a CD I bought in 2005 that I think deserved greater props. My Overlooked CD Pick Of The Week goes to Moving Units' "Dangerous Dreams." It's a little bit Bloc Party, a little bit The Faint, and overall a decent listen.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - okay, hoping to have a slow day at workCurrent Music - none, listening to the Geek New Central podcast.Website Of The Day - 2006 is to be the year of Web 2.0. The Om Malik Blog has a good entry that will allow you Tech Geeks to get a headstart on the rest of the world.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Monday, December 26, 2005

Only 363 Shopping Days Remain!

For someone who never got into the Christmas spirit this year I certainly have the calendar ready for next year...

Christmas Wrap UpAs I grow older more of my friends are having children. That's not shocking news, I know. Where I am going with this is that each Christmas I get more cards that contain pictures of the children. Am I the only one who tries to see his friends in the faces of children? You know, does the child look more like the father or the mother? I can't be the only one who does this, am I?

Hello Caffeine My Old FriendIt's a day off from work, so today I find myself in a (surprisingly) empty Joe's Coffee Shop. I've not had coffee since Friday, so I'm ready for a big cup of coffee.

The weekend was rather rough because I was fighting off a cold that started either late Thursday or Friday morning. The illness seems to be mostly gone, at least I felt well enough to go out and run the Christmas Day Black Sheep hash yesterday.

O Holy PantsDamn! When I started doing my long walks from the midtown to my car I knew eventually that I would ruin some jeans from wear and tear. I just assumed that it would take a much longer time than it has. This morning I picked up the jeans I wore last Friday and found out that I had worn a hole in them. So today one of my tasks is to purchase some new jeans. I was really hoping to put this off for a while (read "until I lost some weight", but I need to wear pants, at least society tells me so...

There's A Whole Lotta Breakin' Goin' OnAbout ten CDs away from finishing the 192kbps re-ripping project my CDROM drive in my laptop stopped recognizing CDs. Perhaps the last thing I considered when I started this project was that I would break my CDROM drive (with the laptop one month out of warranty).

In case you haven't shopped for replacement CDROM drives for laptops (which I hadn't either) they ain't cheap; that doesn't even take installation into consideration. Fuckity Fuck Fuck Fuck!

Since I don't lug that laptop around much any longer (hence the purchase of the iBook last July), I may consider buying an external drive in order to save some cash.

News Of The WeirdI won't pilfer too much stuff to put in this blog but this was just too comical to pass up. Someone posted the following on the Atlanta group of LiveJournal at 2:19am this morning

ahemi ahve a friend who live in conyers who really needs his house cleaned, preferably by 9 am monday morning. yea i know its short notice. the cleaner will be rewarded with a free tattoo or piercing of his or her choice and $30 cash. :) any takers?

I think the tattoo should read "I cleaned a house and all I got was this damn tattoo (and $30 cash)."

Yeah, I know that mocking others' posts is not very nice, but I have 363 days to get back onto Santa's "Nice" list.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - okay, happy to have the day off from workCurrent Music - some Easy Listening music being piped throughout the coffee shopWebsite Of The Day - Looking for some great apps for that new computer that Santa dropped off on Christmas? Browse over to Softpedia, drill down to the appropriate Operating System and download to your heart's content.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Friday, December 23, 2005

Fleece Navidad

I tried to watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" last night, but fell asleep about halfway through. With all of this cold weather I now understand why bears hybernate.

Thwarted, I Say. Thwarted.Last night's walk to my car started at the Arts Center station, led me through Piedmont Park and then through L5P. Once in L5P I stopped into Criminal Records to pick up The Selmanaires' new release "Here Come." The Selmanaries are a local band who I had the pleasure of seeing a few months ago at the Paste Rock & Reel Festival. The Selmanaries don't seem to have their own website, but more 411 can be found at International Records. While I was at Criminal I was also going to buy a gift certificate for my friend Glenn, that was until I ran Glenn at Criminal.

Glenn and I decided to grab a bite to eat at El Myr (no website? por que'?) [may I suggest the tilapia taco?] While the beer and food were fantastic, I was a bit bothered by the amount of smoking in the building. It's funny that recently cigarette smoking has been bugging the shit out of me. I think that it has something to do with my ability to now go to bars that have banned smoking. This is going to make my next concert at The EARL quite interesting...

A Tale Of Two PauliesI finally figured out how to use my scanner!

Most years the Atlanta hash provides an opportunity to get a picture taken with Santa.

Here is 1999 Paulie [the thin version who still had visions of .com sugarplums dancing through his head]. btw- this is my favorite picture of me with Santa.

Here is 2004 Paulie [the enlarged version who has realized that life has not gone quite the way he thought it would]

As a funny side story, when looking for the second of these photos last night I was flummoxed as to where I had put it. When I finally gave up and decided to try and scan the first photo I found the second photo on the platen of the scanner.

And Finally...My dear readers, whatever reason you have to celebrate this weekend, do so to your heart's content. I will be back on Monday and I hope that you will be too.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - tired, empty, sleepy, dopeyCurrent Music - none, listing to the MacCast podcastWebsite Of The Day - For Christmas celebrators only -- NORAD (remember them from "War Games"?) tracks Santa's path each year. See how close he is to your house using their Santa Tracker.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - six miles of walking (two up around Perimeter Mall, four back to my car)

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Let's Get Down To It

I've been mulling this entry for about thirty minutes now. It's time to type...

I'd tell you which Rankin/Bass classic I watched last night had I actually done so. It seems that I did a little too much holiday revelling at George's in the Highlands last night, and after scarfing down the Wendy's (Biggie Sized) Spicy Chicken Combo -- I've been a Bad Boy -- I went directly to sleep.

Walking In A Winter WonderlandWalking Past A Big Ol Traffic JamOh I should be scolded for the joy I took in walking past tens of cars stuck in traffic last night as I walked from my office to the Sandy Springs Marta station. When I do this I normally pick out one car (which usually stands out in a crowd, or contains a pretty driver) and see at what point in my walk the car passes me. Last night that car never passed me!

Sometimes nice guys don't finish last; although some would say that the best guys always do.

I Have KO'ed KonfabulatorI have been a fan of Konfabulator (now a part of Yahoo!) for about a year or so. The idea (which was ripped off by Apple for its Dashboard in OS X) is to provide an application platform so that people can write small apps which run on your desktop. When running on a system which is always connected to the internet it's great way to run a stock ticker, weather updates, etc, etc.

The last two releases, now called "Yahoo! Widgets", have been driving me crazy. On certain machines it installs, while on others it does not. A couple of machines the apps have been acting wonky as well. I've had enough, and have uninstalled it from all machines.

I will have hardships because of this decision, but I will overcome...

Yes, I'm That GuyAt the Marta station I drive to I have a parking space I like to take. About half of the time there is a Volvo SUV in that space, forcing me to take my second choice. When I pulled into my first choice spot yesterday I saw the Volvo pulling into the parking lot. Victory was mine!!!

Hopes Of Scattered, Covered, and Smothered, SmashedDo you remember a while ago I mentioned a plot of land off I20 that was being developed? Do you remember how (with glee) I hoped that someone would finally build a Waffle House near my 'hood?

When I drove by this morning I noticed a number of white pipes sticking up from the ground, which makes me believe that they are going to be building housing there (which I find ridiculous). Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!

Minding My Bees' WaxBack in the olden days (read "when I had a girlfriend") I was introduced Burt's Bees products.

It's true that you never know exactly what you had until it's gone (I am still talking about the Burt's Bees, not the girlfriend). My hand lotion (hey, it's dry in the winter) has finally run out. The local outlet in East Atlanta (Traders) doesn't seem to sell Burt's Bees any longer. Does anyone know if Junkman's Daughter and/or Sevenada still do? If so I'll be stopping in to buy some on my walk tonight.

Hmmm, seems like someone else I know has been talking about this show... like me!

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - returned to mehCurrent Music - none, listing to Leo Laporte's "KFI the Tech Guy" podcastWebsite Of The Day - Find new and inventive ways to get that "Special Someone" in your life drunk of of his/her ass at Bar None Drinks.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - six miles of walking (two up around Perimeter Mall, four back to my car)

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

That's the Rankin/Bass Christmas classic I watched last night. I keep forgetting that I have these on DVD so that I can watch them whenever I want. My plan is to watch a different show each night from now until Christmas.

A Pre-Christmas Miracle?While re-ripping my CDs to 192kbps mp3s I have stumbled across my Vince Guaraldi Trio "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and my "Christmas With The Rat Pack" CDs. Woo Hoo! I have still not found my old 99x Christmas CD or my Dean Martin Christmas CD (which I have repurchased at Decatur CD for $8).

If anyone has a copy of Hip Heavy Lip's "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch", I'd appreciate getting a copy of your copy.

Sometimes You Just Have To Give Yourself A BreakI was offered a ride back to my car last night by my friend and coworker David. Since I was providing critical mass for his hybrid Civic my environmental impact for not riding Marta home was diminished.

Last night I needed a break from my routine so I ate cookies for dinner (and something else later in the evening which sounds so gross I shan't divulge), sat around watching tv and listening to music, and cared not. It was rather liberating I tell you. If you are a on-the-go type like I tend to be, try it some time.

Band To Keep An Eye On? An Ear Toward?While listening to Sirius last night I heard this really cool song by a band called Thunder In The Valley. All the hipsters in the house say "So two months ago!"

No Running For Me TonightAlthough contrary to my desire to shed some weight (as was my cookie dinner) I have decided that it's too cold for me to go out running tonight. I may join up with my fellow hashers at George's for pre-Christmas beverages. Or, I might join up with the Chattooga County All-Stars to play some Team Trivia at the Dark Horse Tavern. Oh, so many options...

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - somewhat okayCurrent Music - Coverville Podcast, episode #155Website Of The Day - By now you probably know that I dig animation. Channel Frederator is a really cool website and videocast featuring short animation features.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Gee, I Hope The Aquarium Is Heated

If not, will the Atlanta skating rink in Centennial Park be moved to the Georgia Aquarium?

Wow, I Still Have Leaves In My DrivewayOne of the main tasks I wanted to accomplish this week was raking (or more appropriately, blowing) the leaves from my driveway and walkway. For some reason I couldn't muster the discipline to get out there and get the job done. Hell, I even turned down an offer from some guy who was working on one of my neighbor's yard. Oh well, more mulch for the grass I say.

At least I got my Christmas cards written...

Meet The Hashers, Take SecondI am tired of being cold. Therefore the idea of walking around outside and singing Christmas carols with the hash on the Tacky Light Tour didn't appeal to me this year.

Instead, I joined Meet The Hashers at Johnny's Pizza in Inman Park for trivia. Sadly, our betting strategy fell short. As much as we tried to disguise our final point wager, the team sitting at the table next to us manage to bet one point fewer and take victory. The victorious team cheered with glee when they realized that they had beaten Meet The Hashers. Sometimes it's tough being part of such a good team.

Whiner Gift Found!On January 6th I will be going to my friends Phil and Stacy's Annual "Wine & Gift Again" party. dLast year I brought the wildly popular Jesus clock; the same Jesus clock that was re-gifted to me on my fortieth birthday.

This year I have something even better in mind! Oh, I could tell you what it is, but that would ruin the surprise. Mark your calendars for January 9th when there will be an entire party recap, with pictures.

CD (You Should Have Purchased) Pick Of The WeekOnce again I will be suggesting a CD you should have purchased, but probably didn't.

Eventhough I wasn't a huge follower of Pavement back in "the day", I am a big fan of Stephen Malkmus' work (with the Jicks). Earlier this year he put out perhaps his finest solo CD to date called "Face The Truth."

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - not badCurrent Music - Ricky Gervais Podcast, episode #3Website Of The Day - Andy Hertzfeld is one of the original Apple programmers. He has launched a site called folklore.org to make sure the history of the early PC days is recorded.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Monday, December 19, 2005

I Want A New Drug

It's the final day of my four-day weekend (not really if you remember that I had to go into work on Friday). It seems as if I have gotten nothing accomplished over the last three days except getting drunk and fatter. Where has the time gone?

Today was supposed to mark the return of the Monday Morning Weigh-In, but I am too embarrassed to publish my current weight. January 2, 2006 seems like a better returning date for that feature. :)

I Hate It When I Lose Things...Both in the traditional and non-traditional sense. It seems that one of my favorite websites for tracking what's playing on Sirius Satellite radio, ItsOnSirius, has gone away. Hopefully it's just a temporary outage.

Set Your Phasers To "Break"What I hate even more than losing things is when I carelessly break things. The other morning I accidently walked into the ironing board (which shouldn't have still been out, but that's another rant) and in turn knocked the iron to the ground where it broke. Now I have to buy a new iron. Maybe I should wrap it up and open it mark it "From Santa" to make light of the situation.

Hashers: More Than People With Drinking ProblemsOn Saturday I participated in the annual Atlanta Hash Holiday Pub Crawl through East Atlanta. Drinking walking-distance from home can't be a bad thing, right? Um, not always true. I was completely trashed by 6pm (even after doing my best to get rid of the never-ending pizza that was ordered at Grant Central East -- this is a story best heard in person).

What better to do the next morning? Run eight miles of course! Believe it or not, I awoke Sunday morning to go out and run eight (slow) miles with a group comprised of mostly hashers. This was more than our bi-weekly runners' group as well, this was a running cookie swap meetup. Cookie Eaters with a Running Problem? I was completely impressed with the array of delicious cookies baked up by my friends, some of which even contained alcohol! Can a cookie be the hair of the dog?

Here is a picture of my entry, peanut butter cookies

Wait Until Next YearMuch like the idea of me fitting into my 34" waist pants it looks like the Falcons' chances of getting into the playoffs are going to have to wait until next year. In what could only be called an inept performance last night in a frigid Chicago, the Falcons had their asses handed to them.

Twofer Monday, It's Your Birthday BirthdayToday marks the birthday of two of my blogging compadres. Apparently, they are the same exact age!

Biggest birthday wishes go out to Maigh. Miss Maigh gets credit for getting me into the blogosphere (I hate that word, btw). So you can thank her for this daily drivel by going to her site and driving up her hit count on her birthday.

A birthday shout-out also goes to Mark who is also the owner of the fledgling Bloggers And Beer website. Whenever I get my shit together I will be posting over there as well.

Oh Jesus! It's Almost Your Birthday Too!Six days until Christmas and I still have no Christmas spirit. I've tried everything I know, buying gifts, sending cards, getting drunk, watching "Very Special" editions of lousy tv sitcoms, yet nothing seems to be hitting home. Oh, if there was only an icy bridge that I could go jump from.

I sincerely hope that all is better in your world.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - slovenly and overly-melowdramaticCurrent Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Grandaddy -- something from "The Diary of Todd Zilla" but I can't remember the title.Website Of The Day - I have no difficulty finding beer. Apparently it's a more difficult task in Canada. I'm not one to surpress technology, so I present to you The Beer Hunter.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Friday, December 16, 2005

I'm Not Supposed To Be Here Today!!!

Technically I am not at work yet, you are getting this blog live from the Paulie "Basement-o-Love" (it's called marketing, people).

Yeah, on my day off I have to go into to work for a meeting. I volunteered for this assignment since it is an important meeting, and hey, 'tis the season for giving...

Wanna Christmas Card?Seriously, 'tis the weekend I'll be writing cards. Send me a private email using that gmail account over there ---> and I'll send you a card. Ain't I fucking sweet? Jews, Muslims, and other Non-Celebrators are elegible although I warn you up front that the card will have a Christmas theme.

Hey Look! More Shows!I will keep pointing out all of the shows you should be attending. Yesterday I pre-ordered a ticket for The Hold Steady. You have two months to learn about them. Begin.

I keep mentioning these because I want company, especially if you are an attractive female. I'm just sayin'.

Death To The Printed Word!A printer cartridge costs the same as a tank of gas? And that doesn't account for the color cartridge! Twenty-Nine dollars? What? Where is the fucking logic in this? Every time I go to buy a printer cartridge I nearly shit a brick.

And as far as you know, I would never consider printing out personal documents at work... not even if I was going in just for a meeting.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - cold, hungry and can't believe that I don't own any crystalCurrent Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Like -- "What I Say And What I Mean"Website Of The Day - I know a lot of you are like me (sick) and are looking for videos for your iPod. Zoom And Go has videos "Built By Travelers For Travelers."

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Icicles. Icicles.

The trees are filled with icicles...

Today's a busy day, so this will be brief.

Slim Crowd With Which To EatLast night's George's running crowd was predictably small, in number not necessarily in stature. Having walked the previous two nights and knowing that I wouldn't be able to make it there by 6pm I gave myself a "pass" last evening.

My goals were simple. Eat. Drink. Get laid. Be merry.

Well, two out of three ain't bad. Right?

And For My Next Trick....As of now I think that I will be playing trivia at Raging Burrito in Decatur tonight. The Chattooga County All-Stars are scheduled to gather at Raging, I'll see if they follow through.

Friday Will Be My DayNo workie for Paulie tomorrow. Anyone interested in lunch? Holla at me.

Of course I really should be doing the 1001 tasks on my To Do list instead. Perhaps I can complete a couple of them to reduce the amount of guilt that I will have if I don't.

Why Can't My iPod Do This?I was always under the impression that I could plug my iPod into any computer with iTunes and play the music or watch the videos through the connected computer.

When I tried this the other night, iTunes warned me that the iPod's library had been synched with a different library and asked me if I wanted to replace the data with the current library. I answered "no" of course.

At that time I could see all of the stuff on the iPod, but I could not play any of it. When I tried using Quicktime to access the library, it didn't even see any of the music or videos.

Anyone out there know what I am doing wrong?

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - wet and coldCurrent Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Test Icicles -- "Boa vs Python"Website Of The Day - Those of you who have mocked my photography skills (myself included) will be happy to see that I'll be checking out Kodak's "Top 10 Tips for Great Photos" later today.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Sometimes You're The Bug

And Sometimes You're The WindshieldI was the victim of some bird's target practice today

I knew I'd have a picture to share today...

Same Walk, Different Police ActivityLast night the traffic through Little 5 Points was horrific. Being on foot, I really didn't give a rat's ass. :)

It seemed that someone wanted to play bumper cars with a Atlanta police car in the middle of Moreland Avenue, forcing the police to re-route traffic.

While I briefly considered stopping and taking photos of the activity as well as one of the Votrex's skull wearing a Santa's hat, I was too cold and weary to do so.

It's Not Beginning To Feel Much Like ChristmasEven with the Vortex's skull in the spirit I just can't seem to get into the Christmas spirit. The weather is Christmas-like, but nothing else about my life is at the moment.

Rat's PackDammit! I thought that I had my "Christmas with the Rat Pack" CD (which I cannot find at home) ripped onto my iPod. I was really in the mood to try and put myself in the Christmas mood, but I could not. Rats!

I am way late this morning, so I'll act like a Christmas gift and wrap up here...

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - still mehCurrent Music - none, listening to Adam Curry's "Daily Source Code" podcastWebsite Of The Day - Here's one for the yarmukle wearing crowd, My Menorah.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

On The First Day Of Christmas

On my walk to my car last night I saw that The Vortex in Little Five Points was closed. Anyone know why? They are normally open seven days a week.

I Was Ready For Some FootballTo be over! Seriously when the fourth quarter of a game starts at midnight there is something completely fucked up. My buddies and I left sometime in the fourth quarter.

Because some moron decided to schedule the last Falcons home game the same day as Cheddarhead 2006 last night's game was the last one that I will be attending this year.

Look Who's TalkingApparently I am not the only one who sees the flaws in the Monday Night Football scheduling. While listening to the end of the game on Dave FM I heard a reported talking who didn't realize that his microphone was hot (on). He was complaining about how late that he would be getting out of the dome, and was talking about sending someone home because of the time. It was really funny and lasted only a few minutes before someone in their control room realized what was happening. When the station returned from momentary silence all was fixed.

What's In A Name?If you were going to open a hair salon would you name it Grow? What about Helmet? These are just two names of places here in town that confuse me since they seem contrary to the service that they provide.

What do I know, I still expect restaurants near office buildings to be open for lunch...

Another CD You Should Have Bought This YearYep, I'm doing it again. There is nothing released today (that Metacritic reports) that thrills me, so I will enlighten you to a CD I bought this year that you probably did not.

My CD Suggestion Of The Week is The Faint's "Wet From Birth". Technically I believe that this CD was released in 2004, but that shouldn't dissuade you from buying it. "Wet From Birth" is an upbeat (in rhythm not necessarily in emotion) CD that I listen to when I need to be charged up (yes, I listen to it often).

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - mehCurrent Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Athlete -- "Wires"Website Of The Day - This one goes out to all my friends who are giving birth soon -- Diaper Free Baby: How to toilet-train before two.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Monday, December 12, 2005

Wrong Ways To Start The Week

Let's see.... I woke up late. Marta was experiencing "difficulties". I've got too much to blog about today, so I'll stick to the basics.

Colony SquaredAfter a nice time sitting around Joe's Coffee Shop, where I ran into my neighbor Val and saw Jenny from the band Charm School (whose website is unreachable) I drove up to Colony Square to continue my day. Drive? Yes, while I had intended to Marta I changed my plans and used the auto.

I had notification that my new glasses (which I am having some minor issues with the switch) so I conducted my business in Colony Square which allowed my to get validated parking. Sweet.

Free parking was even sweeter because I could then walk to the High Museum. With the exception of busloads of school children that swarmed the Wyeth exhibit the museum was vitually empty! What a pleasure it was to set my own pace and not having people step in front of my view. I spent nearly two hours at the High on Friday and perused about two-thirds of the museum. I can see myself playing hookey and going back again.

A Five-Course Square MealStuffed into a pair of slacks I met up with my dinner companions Friday night for drinks and dinner. As I mentioned Friday, dinner was at Lumiere - the restaurant run by Le Cordon Bleu.

Dinner at Lumiere is more than a meal, it's an experience. The menu is price fixe ($32) and based around five courses; drinks cost extra. For each course the diner has at least three options from which to choose.

Prior to the meal selection each of us were given an scallion as a starter. This was a nice surprise and was quite delicious. For my "official" starter I chose the conch fritters. The fritters were fried nicely and served with a mildly-spiced picante. The salad course I chose was warmed spinach leaves served with bacon bits. My choice for the soup course was my only disappointment. For my soup I chose the shrimp bisque. Unfortunately this soup was heavy, flat in flavor and never thrilled me. I tried moving the soup throughout my mouth hoping that different areas of my tongue would change my mind, but it did nothing for me. At this point the dinner we were all given a tasty scoop of pear sorbet to cleanse our palates.

The entree I selected was lamb served with a tart shell filled with sauteed vegetables. The entree was cooked to order and very tasty. I was also able to taste the osso bucco entree and was extremely impressed with it.

And for dessert? My choice was a special sweet potato pound cake; this too was very delicious. Other desserts I tasted and enjoyed were a chocolate souflee (sp). and a creme broulee. The mystery of the dessert course was that we were never asked if we would like a different beverage such as coffee or tea. I would have loved a nice hot coffee with my dessert.

Overall my experience was fantastic, although admittedly not as fantastic as it was for the couple who got engaged there that evening.

Hashing SquaredFor some reason I decided to double my hashing pleasure by hashing both Saturday and Sunday. Perhaps I am a glutton for punishment.

On Saturday our Atlanta hare (MC Hasher) thought she'd be clever and lay a YBF (you've been fucked) at her house which directed us to run back to the start which was the true ending. Luckily for me I got lost on trail and wound up running into people who were on their way back to the start. Therefore I didn't have to run the entire trail.

On Sunday I should have known better. Well, I did know better but it was a Black Sheep Jubilee (#400) so I figured we'd be in for some fun. There are a lot of things you can encounter running a Black Sheep trail including forest, swamp, railroad tracks, tunnels, water crossings, and briar. Black Sheep #400 contained ALL of them. By the end I was so tired and poked-up from a fifty-yard walk through a briar patch (that's where the trail went) that I really wasn't in the mood to drink. Add in that I had to sit on the ice for a down-down for no apparent reason [btw- my bare ass is not a sight that you really want to see], it was a truly great hash.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - hurriedCurrent Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Big Star -- "February's Quiet" (which imho sounds just like a Matthew Sweet song)Website Of The Day - Square your life away be setting up your own personal homepage at Protopage.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Friday, December 09, 2005

I'm Getting High

Unlike Señor Shoobie I am referring to the museum, not the cannibis. That's right, it's Friday and I'm taking a day off. W00t! In addition to picking up my new glasses, I'll be visiting the High Museum today.

And Apparently I Need Those GlassesOn my walk home last night I think I crossed paths with someone out for a run who looked a lot like Maigh. In my defense, I had taken off my glasses because of the mist, so that's why I am not entirely sure.

Lydia Continues To Prove Being Useless Is UsefulI've not said much about Survivor (yes, I am still a viewer). However, watching Lydia continue to get by while contributing nothing has really infuriated me!

Serenity Now! Serenity Now!

Business Casual, Neither 'Business' Nor 'Casual'Those of you who have had the same waist size since high school can skip this section. You just won't understand.

Tonight I will be dining with some of my friends at the restaurant run by Le Cordon Bleu. I am excited by this.

Unfortunately for me, the dress is "business casual." Those of you who have met me know that I am really a blue jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers kind of guy. I own nice clothes, but I rarely wear them. This can be problematic.

Because my waist has grown again this year (contrary to my one goal) digging through my wardrobe to fing a pair of "nice" pants that fit was quite a struggle. More than anything else this just depresses me.

I know the solution (have you noticed that I have walked at least two miles every day this week?), but this solution doesn't help me NOW. I'd have more luck robbing a bank to get money than I would losing enough weight by tonight in order to be comfortable.

Serenity Now! Serenity Now!

Sweatering To The OldiesIn honor of my friend Kat's post the other day I am donning a sweater today. Unfortunately it's not one of those ugly ones like those seen at this Ugly Sweater Xmas Party.

I was looking for the site of that guy who has pictures of the many ugly sweaters he owns, but instead stumbled on the party pictures which are just as priceless.

Serenity Now! Serenity Now!

It's Birthday Time Again (That I Have Finally Remembered)Oh, have I been remiss in wishing birthday greetings to my friends. Well, today is one of those days and I want to wish a very Happy Birthday to my friend Stacey. She has everything a woman could ask for including a fantastic hubby, Andy, whose birthday on November 27th I failed to acknowledge in this space.

Some other people I have missed because I never transitioned all of my data into my new(er) PDA until yesterday. Shame on me! My must humble apologies.

Serenity Now! Serenity Now!

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - I am cold!Current Music - whatever jazz is playing in the coffee shopWebsite Of The Day - I am feeling a bit 60's retro today, and if you are too you should visit the World of Kane blog.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Out With The Old

Ta Ta HotmailMany, many moons ago I created a Hotmail account. For a long time I continued to check it because some people still sent mail to it. Now I find I spend more time deleting spam, so as of tomorrow I will no longer be checking that account, forever. If you read this space and still send email to that account, please stop asap. You can send email to the account listed over to the right, or if you know my Yahoo mail account feel free to use it. Thanks!

Death To A PDA TooThis morning I dug up my old, formerly trusty Palm III. For years this was my technology workhorse, keeping me on schedule as well as containing all contact information. I've struggled over the last year to copy my life to my new PDA, with very limited success.

With the ousting of the Hotmail account, I've decided to make a last-ditch effort to divorce myself from the old Palm III as well.

This will be a very carthartic week.

Festivus For The Rest Of UsWith the exception of the cost of the beverages last night ($5 for a pint of beer) and a lack of free parking, McCray's Tavern was a great establishment for the Drinking Bloggers to get together. I will be updating the Who's Who in my right galley as soon as I see the picture of the sign in sheet.

With the passing of the Festivus Pole each of us got to air our grievances. What was mine? You should have been at McCray's to find out, shouldn't you...

Pie Oh PieThe wind was just right for smelling the delicious scents emitted from the Edward's pie bakery. It's just not fair to have to start the day smelling delicious pies but not getting to eat said delicious pies.

Corrections, Damn Corrections!My walk last night showed me that I got the name of the company responsible for the billboard storefront wrong. The responsible party is Peroni, not San Pelligrino as I mentioned the other day. Call me what you will, but a liar will not be one of them...

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - okayCurrent Music - none, I am listening to Ricky Gervais' podcastWebsite Of The Day - This is an awesome website containing pictures of a 1949 Candy Retailer Book. Go to the website and see what delicious sweets were being pushed 56 years ago. You might be surprised how many are still sold today!

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

C'mon Marta Get Things Fixed!

This morning I nearly missed the train because none of the turnstyles would read my Marta card! This is fucking insane! I am trying to be a customer, your facilites should allow me to be one.

Apparently Marta Thought I Needed More WalkingI should have known that when I decided to ride the eastbound train last night that I was in trouble. All the signs were there

The platform was very crowded

A shorter shuttle-train went through Five Points "out of service"

But no, I got on the train anyway.

After five minutes of waiting to depart the King Memorial station, we were all instructed to get off the train and board the one that was on our tail. Yeah right, like all of us were going to be able to get on the next train. It was at that point I decided to walk.

From The Office Of Redundancy OfficeWhile walking home on the southside of DeKalb Avenue I had the following thought- "Hey I don't remember this sidewalk being here when I walked the night the guy tried to kill himself." And I was right! As I kept walking I encountered the newly poured section (no, I did not write anything in it).

Why the fuck are they pouring a second sidewalk when a sidewalk already runs the length of the north side of DeKalb Avenue? There are soooo many places that need a sidewalk (Buford Highway, perhaps?) why are they pouring this one?

I Spoke Too Soon About StarbucksYep, yesterday I was in error. On my walk to the Sandy Springs Marta station last night I saw that there is indeed a Starbucks in the shopping center that contains the big movie theater. Bummer!

Doh! I Forgot Yesterday Was TuesdayEh, there weren't any new releases that thrilled me. So, much like last week I'll point you toward another cd I purchased this year.

This week's CD Purchase Of The Week goes to The Zutons, "Who Killed... The Zutons." Oh, I know of at least one Zutons hata out there, but she of course is wrong.

Which Means Today Must Be WednesdayAnd on this Wednesday I will be drinking with the bloggers at McCray's Tavern in Midtown. Come join us, won't you?

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - fairCurrent Music - none, I am listening to Harry Shearer's "Le Show" podcastWebsite Of The Day - Oh you knew dating would leap to the iPod, right? PodDater is a dating service for iPodders. btw- don't look for me, you won't find me because I have given up.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Time, Distance, And Spaces

The Hands Of TimeSince I started riding Marta I've had the desire to know what time it is while on the train. At first I would use my cell phone, but then that became difficult to dig out of my pocket. I then put the clock on the main screen of my iPod, but then I didn't want to keep pulling my iPod out of my pocket.

My solution? Wear a watch. (duh!)

I've owned watches for years ('cause that's how I roll). However, I discovered that it's been so long that the batteries in all of my non-sports watches had died.

Last night I took my watches over to It's About Time in Perimeter Mall and had new batteries installed (at a fairly resonable price). I also learned a valuable lesson. When transporting more than one watch, with at least one of those having a metal band, cover their crystals. Yes, I managed to scratch the crystal of one of the watches. Argh, I feel like such a putz!

Walking In A Winter WonderlandA large meal at Great Wraps (hey, I was in the mall...) convinced me that I should temporarily lose my mind and do the four-mile walk from the Midtown station to the Candler Park station again. Well call me Captain Consistency, because much like the first time I attempted this feat the walk last night took my one hour and fifteen minutes (according to the watch I was wearing).

This walk was fantastic! I looked around, listened to a podcast, and got exercise! I've determined that when the weather is on the warmer side again, I will leave everything at work and turn the walk into a run.

A Billboard Storefront?One of the other things I love about walking is the things you notice that you might not otherwise.

Last night I again saw that "billboard storefront" for San Pellegrino bottled water on North Highland. Because it is all white I initially thought it might be an advert for an iPod, but it obviously is not once you look at it. If you want to look at it, it sits between some swank boutique and some swank hair salon. What, that doesn't narrow it down? Well, it's near the intersection of St. Charles and N. Highland.

Starbucks Wherefore Art Thou Starbucks?I think I work in one of the few places that Starbucks has yet to invade. There may be one in that new Super Target, or in the Barnes & Noble (that I've yet to enter) so I could be wrong. I know that I've not seen a stand-alone store in my foot-travels. Starbucks fanboys and fangirls - please let me know if I am wrong.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - meh, mad that I fell asleep so early last nightCurrent Music - nothing, listening to the Leo Laporte's "KFI Tech Guy" podcastWebsite Of The Day - Have you stayed at the Len Foote Hike Inn in north Georgia yet? I've just renewed my "Friend Of" membership. Do yourself a favor and "get away from it all" for a weekend.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Monday, December 05, 2005

Boom! Boom! Out Go The Lights

The first two light switches I turned on this morning blew the light bulbs. Hmmm, I hope that this was not an indicator of things to come today...

Old Man Take A Look At My LifeI think that I am becoming a hermit. Seriously, I think that I am. I have been spending an increasing amount of time at home alone. This does not make me happy.

Saturday is a good example, because I never left the house. Well, I walked to the mailbox to get my mail at 8pm, but other than that I never left my house. I could easily blame the weather because it was about 40 degrees and rained on Saturday, but I know that the weather is not soley to blame.

Project 192Last winter I went through the arduous task of ripping all of my CDs to mp3s. At the time I wasn't sure about the process or the amount of disk space necessary for my collection so I ripped everything at 160kbps. At project's end I swore never to go through it again.

On Saturday morning I started re-ripping my collection at 192kpbs. While it doesn't sound like the music will sound that much better I am certain that it is worth the effort. And now that I have a mp3 player that has three times the capacity of my old one I should still be able to carry my entire collection with me.

On the downside, I spent the entire day Saturday feeding my computer CDs for ripping and I am only about one-third through my collection. Also, I will be unable to rip those CDs that are no longer physically in my collection.

The Eyes Have ItThe last few months I've been getting a lot of professional help (none of the mental variety that I should probably seek).

Today's trip is to the eye doctor (I am might even be there as you read this). Yes, after much neglect I am finally getting a checkup and some new specs. I normally request the help of a female when picking out glasses, but who knows when I'll be dating again so I can't afford to wait.

The good thing about my eye doctor is that it is in Colony Square so I can hop off Marta, stroll over to the doctor, and then go back to Marta to go to work. Pretty cool, eh? I entertained the though of taking today off from work (hey, I worked Friday!) and then going over to the High Museum after the optometrist, but then I remembered that the High is not open on Mondays.

SPAM SPAM Everywhere!Last week I received a text message on my cell phone. While getting a message is not unheard of, this message was from Sprint (my provider) informing me of some new services. Dammit, I pay my bill on time each month, leave me the fuck alone!

Also the other day I received an email telling me that I had a new Flickr contact (whose name escapes me currently). This would normally make me happy. However in this instance I found out that my new contact wanted me to check out some website about music. Crap, now I am getting spam through Flickr?

Please stop this nonsense!

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - botheredCurrent Music - nothingWebsite Of The Day - In case I can't see anything today I should have downloaded some free public domain audio books from LibriVox.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

I'm Not Supposed To Be Here Today

Yesterday I planned to ride Marta to my car, dump off my stuff and then walk to Decatur. I figured that with my card I could ride Marta back to my car. Instead on the southbound ride I had a change of mind. The train was crowded last night and I figured that waiting for Marta at 10:30pm for my return trip would be a pain in the ass. So, I hopped off at Midtown and walked to Candler Park.

According to Gmap Pedometer my route was exactly four miles and the trip took me one hour, fifteen minutes. The weather was perfect, the walk was fun, and it allowed my to catch up on some podcasts on the new iPod. I wish I had thought of this a couple of months ago.

TV WatchTonight BBC America is debuting a new series (at least here in the States) called Creature Comforts.

The series is from Nick Parks' (think Wallace and Grommit) studios and consists of short films that puts the voices from humans into the mouths of animals.

I think it could be quite good.

Business 2.0There are now four new restaurants that are not open for lunch in the unnamed plaza across from my office. I thought it was just Outback Steakhouse that didn't have a clue, but apparently idiocy is abundant over there. Nice job Cheeseburgers In Paradise, Carrabba's, and Flemings, you shan't be seeing any of my business.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - conflictedCurrent Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Morrissey == "Irish Blood, English Heart"Website Of The Day - TV Party has a pretty good site (except for their allowance of pop up ads [even in Firefox]), but you should really read their article about the Rankin/Bass classic "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" "Rudolph: The Untold Story".

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Thursday, December 01, 2005

So Hungry I Could Die!

Not really, I have enough body "reserve" to allow me to survive for days.

Graveyard Tavern: Opening NightThis restaurant commentary needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Get it? Grain of salt! I'm here als the week...

All of East Atlanta, and probably most the surrounding neighborhoods crammed Graveyard Tavern last night. It was the place to be, unless you were very hungry or thirsty. Anyone who showed up for the first night should have expected it to be slammed, and I definitely was.

My meetup was with my friends Glenn, Bill and Sonya, although I was also happy to see my friends Darren, Laura and Kat in attendance as well. Here are my opening night impressions

The restaurant is beautiful (reminding me of an old train depot).

They have dartboards and snooker.

The bar is spectacular!

The restaurant is (at least for now) non-smoking! (good for me)

The beer list (what matters to me) is robust.

The food was okay

I will return.

I Will Support!Last night reminded me that I have been neglecting my 'hood. I plan to live more of my life in East Atlanta, and if you ever want to meetup for a meal or beverage, let me know.

But Tonight I'll Be In DecaturIf all goes to plan I'll be playing trivia with the Chattooga County All-Stars at Raging Burrito in Decatur tonight. The plan also includes using yesterday's plan by doing some extra walking tonight. If you see me trudging along Dekalb Avenue tonight, feel free to honk at me.

Well, I Thought I Had Paid Off My CarI just knew that it couldn't be that simple. Yes, my attempt at paying my car last month failed. Apparently I didn't understand their system (not really my fault because I tried hard to do so) and I have one more payment to go. RATS!

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...Current Mood - fairCurrent Music - none, I am listening to the MacCast podcastWebsite Of The Day - Are you bored? Go to Meetup.com and find events that you'll find interesting.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."